Before we wrap up Jesus’ lineage with a look at the beloved King David, I want to briefly explore the women that Matthew includes in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1. In Matthew’s time, it was not the cultural norm to include women in genealogies, but he includes five-Tamar, Rehab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. It was important for Matthew to include the women in the lineage to show how Jesus came to save all people-men and women, regardless of ethnicity or gender, and to show the important roles these women had as mothers and wives in Jesus’ lineage. Even more fascinating, the women listed in Jesus’ lineage had reputations that would have made a couple of them unmentionable in most family trees.
Let’s briefly take a closer look at these women who were not perfect, but had some pretty impactful moments on history and the family tree of Jesus.
Tamar (Genesis 38)
Quick refresher-Abraham, the man God made the covenant with to make into a nation, had Isaac, Isaac had Jacob who tricked his father into giving him his older brother’s birthright, and Jacob had Judah-one of the 12 tribes of Israel (Israel is now a place, but it is also the name God gave Jacob after their encounter.)
In Genesis 38 we meet a woman named Tamar who quite frankly did some pretty bold things to ensure an heir for her and for the tribe of Judah. Judah married a Canaanite (not from the tribes of Israel) and had several sons. He chose Tamar, a Canaanite, for his firstborn son, Er. You can read the details in Genesis 38, but the gist of the story is that Judah’s sons died an early death because of their wickedness and greed. After the first son died, Tamar married Onan, the second son, who avoided giving her an child because he did not want the heir to have Er’s estate, but instead wanted it for himself. He then, died. In those days, it was custom for the next brother in line to marry the woman who had been the deceased brother’s wife in order to keep the family line and to not leave a woman a widow and childless. Following me? After his first two sons died, Judah, probably thinking how unlucky this woman was for his family, decided to send Tamar back to her father’s home to wait for his youngest son to be old enough to marry Tamar and give the family an heir. (*Remember it was Levirate law to have a son marry the widowed daughter-in-law; in some ancient documents, the father-in-law may even marry her.)
So Tamar returns to her father’s home, childless and widowed, not being able to marry again according to the law. Judah avoids sending for Tamar even when his youngest is old enough to marry. He avoids his duty to the family and the law as well as endangers the entire tribe and messianic line by not providing an heir.
So what did Tamar do? Of course the most obvious and logical thing to do is pretend to be a prostitute and trick Judah into fathering a child with her. For us, this is so difficult to comprehend because our cultures are so drastically different. Try to relate by taking into account the culture of her time. Tamar was acting boldly to make things right in a terrible situation and providing an heir for herself and for the tribe of Judah.
Wow…I really do not know what I would do if I were a woman during that time left alone, childless, unable to marry again, and unable to provide for myself. I fear we cannot judge her but can view her decisions through a cultural lens as bold and loyal to her family.
This story is difficult for me…difficult to read, difficult to accept, difficult to find the good, difficult to write about. BUT I love it because it is so similar to life in so many ways-a messy, complicated, not so pretty collection of people and their imperfect flaws and decisions many times just trying to make things right.
Thank you, Jesus for using our messes.
Rahab (Joshua 2, 6:22-23)
Oh how I wish I could meet Rahab and sit for a while and ask her what made you do it? What made you, a Canaanite prostitute, who did not even grow up believing in God risk your life and your family’s life to hide spies that were going to take over your land? It is one thing for a devout Israelite who has believed in God and practiced His laws to act with a faith that risks everything and has a monumental impact on history, but Rahab barely knew God when she decided to harbor spies sent by Joshua to Jericho. This woman who was rejected by society heard of the powerful things God was doing, and she chose to believe. She chose to trust. She chose Him.
Because of her incredible trust and faith in an extremely perilous situation, she and her family were spared when Joshua conquered the Promised Land. She is a major part in the Israelites conquering Canaan. She is an ancestor of the King.
Not only is Rahab another beautiful example of how God uses the broken, the rejected, the mess, it is also a beautiful, inspiring story of complete trust and faith in Him. How many times have I continued to live in doubt or beg for Him to send me 5,000 reassurances that this is the right path? I do not believe confirmation and questioning is wrong because it is important to make sure that you are hearing Him, but I also believe that trust, true trust and faith, means taking action, stepping out, leaving, even when we do not have all the answers.
Thank you, Jesus for using the rejected, the unlikely.
Ruth (Ruth 1-4)
And then there is Ruth…I love Ruth. Ruth is one of my favorite people in the Bible. Her loyalty to her widowed mother-in-law Naomi, who married a man from the tribe of Judah (son of Jacob, one of the twelve tribes) and also lost her two sons, is a beautiful picture of faithfulness, kindness, and integrity.
Ruth refused to leave Naomi after Naomi lost her husband and sons. They decided to head back to Bethlehem (where David and Jesus would be born, fulfilling Scripture; coincidental? I don’t think so!) to return to family to possibly have someone to help care for them. Ruth was a Moabitess who did not grow up believing in or worshiping God but because of her love and respect for her mother-in-law, she began to grow closer to God and develop a deep faith in Him.
Ruth meets a man named Boaz (son of Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute, and great-grandfather of King David) and he describes Ruth’s actions:
“I have been told about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband-how you left you father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” (Ruth 2:11-12)
And oh does God bless her…Boaz took Ruth as his wife to fulfill his moral and legal obligation to his relative (Naomi). She becomes a part of his family and will be a part of Jesus’ lineage. Boaz is kind to her, takes care of her and Naomi, and loves them.
Ruth’s story is beautiful story of faithfulness, kindness, integrity, and love. You cannot read it without feeling complete joy and eyes filling with tears at witnessing how God uses the loyal spirit of a widowed Moab woman who stands by her faithful, God-loving mother-in-law, and is redeemed by a man of incredible kindness and integrity to bring us our Savior, Jesus.
Thank you, God for using the unlikely, the messes, the broken, and the rejected. May we trust in you as Rahab did in the most difficult situations and may we walk alongside others with loyalty, love, and kindness as Ruth did. Thank you for your saving Son, Jesus.
Shared with love,
Lindsay
Meet Me on the Front Porch 